Funny, likable, lightweight comedy

This is not a biting Hollywood satire, and I'm sure there were some missed
opportunities to poke fun at the biz. But as long as that's not what
you're
expecting, you should have lots of fun.

I'm an avid Billy Crystal fan, and though he's not the star of the film, I
was really looking forward to this movie--being that he also co-wrote the
script. There are some trademark zingers you'd anticipate from the
Oscar's
favorite MC: "Sixty pounds? That's a Backstreet Boy."

The cast is superb. Hank Azaria, like always, steals the show. He is
absolutely hilarious as Catherine Zeta-Jones' new Spanish lover. There is
a
great scene near the end where he gets outraged at a rumor of his
inadequate
"size." Just like his role as the flamboyant butler in "The Birdcage" he
brings out tons of laughs, taking on a phony accent. He really is a man
of
extraordinary talent. John Cusack shows us his more...goofy side. I've
always enjoyed him in past movies, but he usually plays the straight man.
This was something different. Well, I guess you can say he plays the
straight man, but he stumbles into all sorts of slapstick situations that
causes him to overreact in comic fashions. And he's great at it! Julia
Roberts is...well...Julia Roberts. I have nothing against Julia, but I
don't patronize her in the same way others do. I don't think she's the
most
beautiful woman and I don't think she's the most brilliant actress. But
I'm
sure many were looking forward to this movie because of Julia, and if
you're
one of those people, you won't be disappointed. Catherine Zeta-Jones is
extremely beautiful, but she is so great as the whiny, bitchy ex-wife of
Cusack/spoiled actress that I wanted to stab her every moment she was on
screen. Alan Arkin is funny as the pretentious, preposterous spiritual
healer. There is a great deleted scene with him and Cusack over the
phone,
while Arkin rides the streets of Vegas in a pink convertible. Those
renting
the DVD--don't skip the deleted scenes! And last but not least,
Christopher
Walken (Da Man!) has a brief but memorable appearance as reclusive
director
Hal Wideman.

Don't expect any surprises. The story's as predictable as can be. The
whole movie is superficial fluff. But it's enjoyable superficial fluff.
If
you just want to kick back, have some good laughs, without having to kill
any brain cells--curl up on the couch with your man or woman and watch
"America's Sweethearts."

My score: 7 (out of 10)

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24 out of 33 people found the following review useful:

An entertaining look behind the scenes of the movie star romances.

Normally, who is married to/engaged to/dating who in the movie world is
something that I couldn't possibly care less about, and I still don't care,
but America's Sweethearts manages to make that very subject amusing and
entertaining. John Cusack and Catherine Zeta-Jones play Eddie Thomas and
Gwen Harrison, two movie stars who have been tremendously successful working
together and who have worked their way into the heart of the American
public. The conflict comes from their highly publicized breakup, which has
resulted in two consecutive box office failures for Gwen and some serious
psychological problems for Eddie.

Stanley Tucci takes on a small but very effective role as Dave Kingman, the
short tempered studio executive, furious with Christopher Walken's much more
entertaining Hal Weidmann, the introverted filmmaker who sent Kingman the
first print of his film (after charging $86 million of the studio's money),
which consisted of nothing but titles and the hilarious message, `We could
also do these in blue.' Kingman throws a predictable but very funny tantrum.
We spend the rest of the film wondering why Weidmann is so cocky toward
Kingman and so close-mouthed about the film, but we are rewarded in the
final act.

Julia Roberts comes back in an ironic role when compared to her recent (and
far superior) role in Notting Hill, in which she was America's Sweetheart
who had fallen in love with a regular guy. Here, she is the constantly
unnoticed sister of Gwen Harrison, her big movie star sister. Both women are
perfectly cast as the famous movie star and the famous movie star's sister,
but this is more a testament to their abilities as actors than it is to the
ingenuity of the casting director. The acting was just excellent. Hank
Azaria plays the part of Hector (`This is bull-chit!'), the over-the-top
Spanish guy with the hilarious lisp that Gwen has been seeing ever since her
rough break up with Eddie. Hector is an amusing character, but it is obvious
from the first scene where we see him (in which he insists that he and Gwen
will `go to the hunket' together.') that he is an expendable character.
He's funny, but he still badly mangled the Spanish accent as well as the
lisp, coming off as amusing but impossible to take seriously.

The entire romantic subplot of the film was predictable from the very
beginning, if only because it was given away in its entirety in the
theatrical trailer. If you have ever heard of this movie before watching it,
then you've already seen the emotional scene where Kiki (Roberts) tells
Eddie that that woman that he saw standing by the spa that he had to spend
the rest of his life with was her, and not her sister Gwen. From that
perspective, America's Sweethearts is one of those movies where if you've
seen the preview, you've seen the movie (take Pleasantville as another
example).

Christopher Walken provides an excellent source of comic relief as well as
one of the only really interesting characters in the film. He is the nutty
filmmaker (indeed, the best films almost unwaveringly come from the people
who are a little off') who edits his films in the Unabomber's cabin, which
he had moved onto his property, and who indeed created a truly memorable
film, of which we unfortunately are only able to see a small portion. `The
Blair Bitch Project,' as the press later calls it, is a kind of film that
would be really interesting. The tabloids would have a field day.

There are a lot of sight gags and low brow humor in America's Sweethearts,
and it is reported to bear a striking resemblance to Singin' In The Rain
(although remains far inferior to that classic musical comedy), but it
manages to keep the audience entertained if not hanging on every word. True
film fanatics are sure to pick it apart for nearly feeding off of classic
films and for following such a clear-cut formula, but there is definitely
something to be enjoyed here.

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12 out of 14 people found the following review useful:

A good Fun Movie

Gwen (Catherine Zeta Jones) and Eddie (John Cusack) are America's
favourite sweetheart couple, but since breaking up Eddie has had a
breakdown and Gwen's career is floundering. Their latest movie is
shortly due for release and their press agent Lee (Billy Crystal) with
the help of Gwen's sister Kiki (Julie Roberts) have to get them back
together and promote the movie.

Written and produced by Billy Crystal 'America's Sweethearts' is a good
giggle, and has some fine performances from Cusack, Crystal, Roberts
and Jones (Although Catherine Zeta Jones's performance as a press
hungry b*tch, is maybe a little too believable). For me though the
ending makes the movie, its not entirely what your expecting and
Christopher Walken, helps to bring the closing scenes to life, with his
patented brand of acting genius.

Worth a watch 7/10

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8 out of 10 people found the following review useful:

Translates to the small screen well

When I saw this movie in the theater, I left a bit disappointed, which is
hard to say because I love Julia Roberts. For some reason, it just did not
click. However, when it came out on video, I watched it again and I laughed
so hard I couldn't believe it was the same movie. It just worked so much
better at home on the small screen. So my advice to anyone who saw it in
the theater and was not struck by it, try it again as a rental and you may
be surprised. And of course, if you haven't seen it, I do recommend it, for
it is a fun movie and is actually quite entertaining, especially if you like
the stars, which most people do.

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8 out of 10 people found the following review useful:

Romance in Sweethearts Wins Out...

Joe Roth's "America's Sweethearts" starts off as an edgy dark comedy
about the movie promotion business, then veers off into a conventional
romantic comedy which better serves the talents of John Cusack, Julia
Roberts and Catherine Zeta-Jones. This tangential storyline was written
by Billy Crystal (also one the stars) and Lee Philips. The premise is
very promising. America's Movie Sweethearts, Eddie Thomas (Cusack) and
Gwen Harrison (Catherine Zeta-Jones), are no longer-- they are getting
a divorce.

In fact Gwen has a restraining order on Eddie following their dramatic
break-up. Gwen is shacked up with a Spaniard dancer, Hector (an
embarrassing loser role played by Hank Azaria). Eddie now resides in a
spiritual retreat following his meltdown. However, Eddie and Gwen made
one last movie with eccentric genius, reclusive director Hal Weidmann
(perfectly played by Christopher Walken). No one has seen the film
which looks to be a rip-off of Jean-Claude Van Damme's "Time Cop".
Weidmann professes this unseen movie is his greatest work. Studio
Exec., Dave Kingman (Stanley Tucci), convinces promotions expert, Lee
Philips (Crystal) whom he fired, to stay on and orchestrate the press
junket for the movie. To bring the estranged Eddie and Gwen together,
Lee enlists the aid of Kiki Harrison (Roberts) who is not only Gwen's
"doormat" sister, but also her personal assistant. We soon learn that
big hearted Kiki has always loved Eddie.

The movie industry inside jokes and details surrounding press junkets
are great in the beginning of the movie. Though this wastes time in
what is predictably a romance. Tucci's ruthless and humorless exec. is
way too dark a character for this movie. Hector (Azaria) is a total
waste of time here. For the amount of talent involved in this project
it is amazing how much useless overhead is in the movie. Don't get me
wrong here entirely-- I did enjoy the movie. What saves the movie are
the wonderful talents of John Cusack and his natural chemistry with
Julia Roberts. Zeta-Jones is believable as the self-absorbed ice bitch,
Gwen-- let's hope that she does not make a habit of these kinds of
roles. Julia Roberts is not stretching here as the good hearted, smart,
and plain sister of movie star, Gwen. Though Roberts unquestionably has
the movie star quality-- she enchants on screen. Cusack is the quirky
romantic leading man of the Milennium, and plays Eddie with a
bewilderment and smarts. You always get a sense of what's swirling in
Cusack's Eddie's head. He is aware of his emotional instability, while
promoting a movie he has never seen, with a woman he is no longer with.
And the woman of his life is right in front of his face-- Kiki. Duh!
Cusack is totally charming in his journey from cluelessness.
Ultimately, he and Roberts make Sweethearts worth watching-- which is
saying quite a lot.

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27 out of 48 people found the following review useful:

Ultra light summer movie

And I mean ultra light. This film features four giant stars, about three
and a half jokes and nothing beyond that.

There really isn't too much to say about this stinker, other than that
although it has a couple of really good bits, most of it isn't very funny.
Nor does it work at all as a romance. How about as a romantic comedy? Not on
your life. Most of the dialogue is way too flat to be sophisticated, much
less amusing.

What's really ashame is the premise is not bad at all. This movie could
have been so much more, especially with all the recent focus on some of the
bogus ways in which films are promoted, complete with phony quotes from
critics. The film uncovers the un-mined territory of the press junket --
those all expense paid trips for journalists who almost always write nice
reviews. But instead of exploring what should have been a motherlode of
jokes, it devotes all of about three minutes to this territory and moves on
in pursuit of the film's lame romance.

The same with Catherine Zeta-Jones' character -- the whinny, self centered
movie star. Zeta-Jones does a good job with what she's given, but she's
given practically nothing. It's all homogenized junk that looks very pale
in comparison with some of the things we've heard about stars over the
years.

In the end, it is hard to understand what made Zeta-Jones, Julia Roberts,
John Cusack and Billy Crystal sign aboard this doomed ship, which sinks like
a rerun of "The Love Boat." In fact, as the old joke goes, they should have
forgotten the script and filmed the deal. It would probably make a better
story. So, go ahead and tell us, filmmakers, what do you have on these stars
that got them to appear in this?

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5 out of 6 people found the following review useful:

What

indeed is John Cusack doing in this heap of crap? He's a truly gifted
performer and writer plus he's extremely beautiful and has views I
respect. I love the man but his judgement is so sorely lacking in
accepting a role in this rubbish. Catherine Zeta Jones would be over
stretching her abilities as an actress in a junior school production of
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. She's dreadful and should stick to attending
movie star bashes with her dad, no, sorry, he's her husband. At least
he can bloody act. Perhaps she should consider taking a few lessons
from him before her looks fade and she's got absolutely nothing to
offer. Don't bother watching this film. You'll resent the time you
wasted.

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4 out of 5 people found the following review useful:

Good Romantic Comedy Movie with a great cast

SO I just finished watching this movie a couple of days ago. The reason
I watched it because Julia Roberts was in it and shes one of my
favorite actresses. Here is a short summary of whats it about, Well it
starts with a famous Hollywood couple that is going through a divorce,
and a movie director who lost his job and has the chance to get it back
if he can bring John Cusack's character and Zeta Jones character back
to together. Julia Roberts' character is Zeta Jones sister in the movie
and happens to to get with John Cusack's character because she always
had a crush on him and John Cusack has always liked her.

Well the movie was good, it wasn't great. Yes most people will watch it
because of the cast and not like it. Christopher Walken steals the show
as always in the beginning and end, with short scenes. There are some
really funny scenes, but thats about it. The plot of the movie is okay
nothing excitint.

I give it 6 out of 10 stars. I would at least give it a chance if your
fan of any of the actors in this film, or if you like that type of
genre.

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4 out of 5 people found the following review useful:

One of my favorite romantic comedies of all time.

Eddie (John Cusack) and Gwen (Catherine Zeta-Jones) are the movie
couple everyone loves to see together. Their movies are the stuff of
romantic legend, but Eddie is in a mental institution after nearly
killing Gwen because she was cheating on him. Now the last movie they
made together is being held hostage by the eccentric director
(Christopher Walken). The head of the movie studio (Stanly Tucci) is so
desperate for a hit that he re-hires the man he just fired (Billy
Crystal) to gin up media hype for a movie nobody has seen, not even the
studio.

The movie is absolutely fantastic. The humor is very clever, not
contrived or forced like in so many other films. The characters are
well acted and entirely believable. The supporting cast is dynamite,
Seth Green, Hank Azaria, and Alan Arkin all have memorable and
entertaining parts. My personal favorite is Christopher Walken, his
crazy director character is wildly entertaining, despite only having a
few minutes of screen time. America's Sweetheart's is easily one of the
best romantic comedies I have ever seen.

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4 out of 5 people found the following review useful:

A total waste of time!

As a fan of Julia Roberts, John Cusak, and Catherine Zeta Jones, I found
this movie a total bore! Did this movie ever make it to
theaters?
It looks like something that would go straight to video. No wonder I had
never heard of it before. A joke!